DLC

There's been a lot of talk about DLC lately and I'm wondering what you guys think about it.

SF X Tekken, they release 3/4 of the game for $60, and they plan to release the rest of the game for an additional $20. That's $80-$90 (including tax).
Crapcom has been pulling this kind of crap for while now, and it forced me to never buy any Crapcom game new. This is one developer I will never support again. I'm just gonna pirate everything they make, and the games that are worth buying, I'll only buy them used.

I think DLC is going to turn our console games into apps. No, not the game quality, but the way app make money. They push ads/spams onto to you until you pay to turn them off, and some won't even give you that option. The DLC in console games are turning into in app purchase.
and I think it won't be long until they are putting ads into their games.

Think about it.

- We have to pay extra for online access if we buy used.
- Developers are starting to strip away parts of the game and selling them as DLC. Mass Effect 3
- We have to pay extra for additional character in almost every fighting game.
- Ninja Gaiden 3 (for example) only has one main weapon, and they are going to release extra weapons as DLC for free. But how long until they or other developers start charging for it.
- There's even some rumor, that says developers are going to start charging for multiplayer or selling the multiplayer part seperately, ***This is just a rumor** But I would be surprise if they did.

It's trending in that direction.
I hope that it doesn't go any further than it is right now, but there's a lot of money involve and right now for developers, it's more about the money and less about the game or the gamer.

I feel your pain, and I think any serious gamer shares the same at what DLCs are doing to the industry. It is a shame that there are lots out there that are just delusional. I've seen arguments where they claim DLCs add to the game, DLCs are so cheap it shouldn't matter, DLCs support developers and so on. And I can honestly say there are some DLCs that I am happy to pay for, but for every good DLC I see a thousand ridiculous ones.

You know, companies have been cramming ads into sports games as soon as they had enough of a resolution to display it. Publishers will jump on DLCs as soon as they realize how profitable it is, and really I can't blame them, they are out there to make a profit, not to cater to gamers.

The one that cheesed me off in particular was Shogun 2: Total War's blood pack (http://dsdatabase.org/showthread.php/2426-WORST-Case-of-a-DLC-Blood-Pack). It is absolutely ridiculous, I mean we've sunk low when we sell chapters that should be bundled with the original game or even characters, but honestly Shogun sunk to an all time low selling a graphical option as a Blood Pack. The part that makes me want to weep is that while there are like-minded people on the Total War forums that complained about the Blood Pack, there were even more that were quick to defend the DLC. I think their favorite line is that "it costs less than a coffee, so stop whining". Sorry, I'm off on a rant here, but I'm happy at least to see that the game got a full fledged expansion pack after everything.

But on the bright side, I honestly think that the trend will snap. Consumers aren't stupid, they'll catch on sooner or later, and because publishers like Capcom have abused DLC so heavily, it is only a matter of time before they see sales drop. Historically if a game is priced higher than the rest, it doesn't matter about the quality, sales go down the drain. I think what's working at the moment is that DLCs generally aren't announced with the game, so gamers purchase then get slapped in the face later on. Since it has become so common, people will simply stop buying altogether. I was quick to catch on with these "Game of the Year" editions, but others aren't. Once it registers that DLCs are common, I think it'll hurt sales more than it'll help, which is a shame really since in theory DLCs are a fantastic method of distributing mid-sized updates to a game.

I don't think it's gonna end any time soon, because even though gamers had voiced their opinion on sites like metacritic, etc. Games like Mass Effect 3 is still selling like crazy.

"it costs less than a coffee, so stop whining"

That's not really the case anymore. For example, the DLC in Mass Effect 3 totaled $870, Mortal Kombat's DLC are $15, SF X Tekken is $20. It's like they know they are taking advantage of people but they still do it.

Wow I haven't heard that yet, the $870 worth of DLC on ME3, but I guess as expected from EA right? I think we do generalize a bit though, no doubt the DLC on ME3 is not meant to be all bought together. There's a difference between optional add-ons and what I generally see as DLC. I have no doubt that a lot of ME3's DLCs must be for jokes or really specialized options. Obviously there will be collectors or just plain idiots that will buy the whole set. But personally I don't have a problem with them offering cooler options for a few bucks, nor do I mind essentially a smaller expansion pack for a lower price, my gripe is those that are obviously cut out of the original game, ie main characters, additional chapters when the game itself is shorter than usual, factions that should have been included, etc.

I think Fire Emblem on the 3DS is also getting DLCs, so it's hitting even handhelds.

I'm pretty sure Nintendo is against DLC in any first party titles. I see nothing wrong when them enabling something another developer wants to do, as long as they don't include DLC in their games they are still true to their word.

I'm not sure Nintendo themselves would be successful with DLCs. To sell a DLC (and not butcher the actual title), you need a fanbase that is looking desperate to collect and complete their package. Nintendo's fans usually don't have the money, I'm thinking Mario here where parents buy the games for the kids or kids save up and can't afford too many DLCs. They'd probably be able to pull it off with Zelda though, hell I'd buy it to complete the collection.

I'm not sure Nintendo themselves would be successful with DLCs. To sell a DLC (and not butcher the actual title), you need a fanbase that is looking desperate to collect and complete their package. Nintendo's fans usually don't have the money, I'm thinking Mario here where parents buy the games for the kids or kids save up and can't afford too many DLCs. They'd probably be able to pull it off with Zelda though, hell I'd buy it to complete the collection.

Nintendo would ultimately end up splitting and insulting their fanbase by adding DLC to one of their first party games (especially Zelda).